Microlight pilots need to have a private pilot's licence

BANGALORE: Pilots flying microlights , a conventional two-seater aircraft weighing less than 450kg, need to have a private pilot's licence, which they can get after 40 hours of flying with trained pilots.

Capt Murali Ramakrishna started his career flying Aeronca Super Chief, a high-winged touring aircraft . Today, he flies a Bell 407 helicopter . But he counts Ikarus C42, a two-seat microlight airplane manufactured by Germany's Comco Ikarus , as one of his favourite hobby flights. "Microlights are gentle machines . The sheer joy of flying at 1,000ft and capturing the experience with a wing-mounted camera is exhilarating ," said the CEO of Crescent Air Cargo.

Most people's first bird-in-thesky experience is either on an overseas holiday or when someone gifts them a flying experience. Javad Hassan , CEO of city-based Albatross Flying Systems, said many prefer cross-country adventure flights. "They don't mind spending a few lakh of rupees to experience the thrill of flying," he said. A base model of a microlight costs Rs 15-20 lakh and that goes up to Rs 50 lakh for a sophisticated one.

Shreyas N, founder of Wuki Labs, a company doing R&D on alternative careers, took his first-ever flight in a microlight on the Jakkur runway, when his wife Radhika Subramanian gifted a microlight flying experience through The Yellow Cycle, a gifting portal based in Bangalore. Shreyas says it was quite an experience doing flips and somersaults at 1,000ft. "The pilot gave me the controls of the plane after reaching a certain altitude. The sortie was short, but it was the experience of a lifetime," he said.

Yellow Cycle charges about Rs 20,000 for a 40-minute sortie, and includes a pick-up and drop in a BMW, a champagne bottle and a high tea on the tarmac. Vinitha Mariappa, microlight instructor in Bangalore Aerosports , said the sport is still considered an expensive hobby. "There are very few microlight-licensed operators in the country. Lack of adequate infrastructure and limited number of flying clubs are holding back the sport," he said. Mariappa's institute has trained over 20 licensed microlight pilots. It costs between Rs 3 and 5 lakh to obtain a licence, and it must be backed by a 6- to 12-month training.